The present invention relates to archery products, and more particularly to a vane on an archery arrow to stabilize the arrow in flight.
Archery arrows typically are outfitted with feathered or polymeric sheet type vanes to stabilize the arrows in flight. Vanes produce lift and lateral force on the arrow which in turn stabilizes the arrow's flight pattern by moving the center of pressure rearward. In turn, this usually provides consistent arrow flight and can improve shot accuracy.
Lift and lateral forces can be increased by increasing the surface area of a vane, however, there is a limit to the overall vane size for improving stabilization. For example, while theoretically stabilizing arrow flight, larger vanes can interfere with an arrow rest as the arrow is shot from a bow. This interference can negate any improved stabilization due to the increased surface area of the larger vane. This can be particularly problematic for slower moving arrows propelled by lower energy bows, such as recurves and long bows.
Accordingly, archers and manufacturers turn to other features of vanes to improve arrow flight and stablization. For example, some offset the arrow vanes fore to aft to induce spin on the arrow via the vanes. Others utilize vanes having an upright, generally planar blade with a slight fore to aft curvature. While these types of vanes do produce spin, sometimes they do not produce enough spin to provide notable stabilization, particularly, for slower moving arrows, such as those shot from bows like recurves and long bows.
Further, offset and pre-curled vanes many times are stressed, bent, deformed or kinked as they are manipulated and mounted on a cylindrical arrow shaft. As a result, such vanes can become slightly misshapen. This can produce aerodynamic defects or unwanted anomalies in the vanes, or can make the vanes prone to damage in flight or upon impact with a target. After time, this can also reduce the amount of arrow stabilization intended by the use of such vanes.
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in the field of archery arrow vanes, and in particular, ones that can impart stabilization forces on the arrow and improve the flight of the arrow.